I’m interrupting my regularly scheduled Friday recipe today because (a) I didn’t photograph a recipe this week and (b) the topics of nutrition, hydrations fueling on your runs refuses to stop writing itself into a post in my mind until I actually write them down and publish them.
The lack of recipe (a) is because I’ve truly been enjoying simple, “uncreative” whole foods recently.We eat some variation of chicken/pork/beef, potatoes or brown rice, and vegetables every night. Lunch is similar, but with eggs instead of meat. Breakfast is oatmeal made with water, an egg whisked in for protein, chia seeds, and fruit. Snacks are toast, yogurt, or more fruit. It’s predictable, it’s not blog-worthy recipes, but my body is thriving on it.
Lately when I bake lately I’ve been following a recipe rather than creating my own. I’ve developing new products to launch on the blog this spring (more on that later) and creating new recipes has been the last thing on my mind this week. What has been on my mind, however, is fueling and food.
If you read Meredith’s blog (which you should!), she graciously featured me in a couple of posts on balancing running and your diet. To say I was honored and excited to collaborate with her is an understatement. Working with her on the posts and reading the comments made me realize just how important the topic of eating enough as a runner is, and yet how many runners, especially female runners, restrict their intake in some way or another.
It’s not just what we eat that impacts our running; it’s how much we eat and when we eat.
Which for many female athletes, can be a tricky subject. We all grew up reading in glossy magazines about tricks to cut even more dietary fat from our 1500 calorie a day diets, how to exercise our thighs lest they be “bulky,” and how to dress to make our waists look even similar than they already are.
The mindset that less is more when it comes to eating still haunts many women, threatening us with running related injuries, amenorrhea, and those races where everything goes south and we struggle to finish minutes slower than our time goal.
I’m sure several of you got into running as a form of weight loss, which in itself is no problem. Running is one of the best forms of cardiovascular exercise and in addition to burning calories, it gifts you with a healthier heart, stronger lungs, and a more resilient mind.
But whether you are running to lose weight, maintain a healthy weight, deal with anxiety and stress, achieve a lifetime goal, or because you just love running, you cannot avoid properly fueling your body.
So, today, I want to tackle one topic to begin this series: eating food before and during your run.
Fueling on Your Runs: Why, How, and When
Fact or Myth: If food upsets your stomach on a run, you should just run without fuel, even on long runs, half marathons, and marathons.
The answer: myth.
Yes, I succumbed to this fallacy for years. I do not posses an iron stomach. But recently I realized that, just as I train my legs to turn over faster and body to send oxygen to my muscles faster, I can train my stomach to tolerate food or sports nutrition products on a run, and so can you.
The New Rules of Marathon and Half Marathon Nutrition has become my ultimate resource on fueling and hydration for endurance events. He offers smart, practical, and realistic advice on how to fuel during training as a whole, before, during, and after specific types of runs, and before, during, and after a race.
In The New Rules of Marathon and Half Marathon Nutrition (let’s call it New Rules from here on out), Fitzgerald makes a claim about fueling on your runs that stood out to me more after the Portland Marathon than it did upon my first read:
“You may need to learn to put up with some stomach discomfort associated with carbohydrate intake. Many runners assume that any degree of stomach discomfort is unacceptable and harmful to performance. This assumption is incorrect. Studies indicate that runners perform better with higher rates of carb intake in races even when they suffer mild to moderate stomach discomfort.” (Page 141)
He also talks about how you can make your stomach become more comfortable with carbohydrate intake during training. After all, isn’t part of race training teaching yourself to become more comfortable with uncomfortable paces and distances? So why not train yourself to become more comfortable with eating carbs on the run?
Here’s my {very unscientific} take on carbohydrate consumption and fueling on your runs, based primarily on personal experience and observation of other runners. Our stomachs don’t know how to eat on a run. We need to teach them. The first few times of taking in fuel during a run, similar to how the first few times of running, will likely be an uncomfortable experience.
If you give up then and dismiss fueling on your runs, your body will never have the chance to realize how awesome it is to have more energy on a run and teach your stomach to behave better. You won’t acclimate to taking in fuel, so each time you sporadically try it, you’ll experience the same discomfort.
Not sure what to eat? Check out this list of 17 options from sports gels to frozen grapes!
That’s not to mention that fuel during a run often provides us with electrolytes, whether it’s potassium from a banana or electrolytes in your sports nutrition product of choice. When your electrolytes are imbalanced, your muscles cramp (including your stomach muscles), you feel dizzy and faint, and nauseous. (Read more about electrolyte imbalances in this Runner’s Connect article).
But if you stay patient with the process, experiment with different fuels, and give your body the time it needs (which can be even a few months) to adapt to eating on the run, fueling on your runs will become easier, less unpleasant, and more effective. Your stomach will feel better on runs, and, in turn, your running will improve.
Now, this doesn’t mean you should eat on every single run. The simplest rule: you should fuel during workouts longer than 90 minutes, especially if these are long runs exceeding two hours or intense workouts. Of course, there’s a lot more to it than that, but that’s another topic for another post!
What else can you look forward to in this series:
– Running and glycogen depletion
– Female Athlete Triad
– How I improved my fueling and hydration: eating before & after a run
– How I improved my fueling and hydration for race day
And if you’re interested, you can read my post on how I improved my fueling and hydration for long runs.
Do you subscribe to my email newsletter? Over the next few weeks, I will be offering exclusive content on fueling and hydration in my newsletter, beyond what you will see on the blog.
Plus, if you sign up for my email newsletter, you’ll receive a free download of race predictor workouts to help you assess your fitness and set bold yet achievable goals for your next 5K, 10K, half marathon, or marathon. You don’t want to miss out! (And thank you so much if you do sign up!)
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Remember that product I mentioned above? Here’s an early, pre-pre-launch spoiler: it’s an in-depth e-course designed to teach you about fueling and hydration in training, racing, and recovery and help you create and master your own fueling and hydration plan. Whether you’re a new runner or an experienced marathoner, this e-course will offer you valuable information and useful tips. Be sure to sign up for my email to stay updated!
I’d love to hear from you:
What do you eat during runs?
What’s a question you have about eating and running, fueling, and hydration?
The Olympic Marathon Trials are this weekend! Who’s your favorite? Are you watching?
One of my biggest mistakes was years ago during what toned out to be my PR marathon. I always have an upset stomach during a marathon, but during that race I was feeling so good that I didn’t want to upset the status quo by ingesting anything, so I didn’t fuel properly. As a result, I basically hit the wall at mile 20, and turned what should have been a 3:12 race into a 3:16. I definitely learned my lesson about fueling.
That sounds like it was a rough race, but a 3:16 is still an amazing time! I’ve been there also with the fear of ingesting something – when in reality it seems that risk of stomach upset is better than the wall usually.
I actually cannot eat before working out because it does make me feel sick and tired. Not ofr me – i believe each to their own though!
Everyone is different! What I talked about in the post is hopefully what can work for most people, but if we were all the same on everything there’d be no fun in that!
thanks for linking to my posts – it was great working with you on the info! I have a pretty tough stomach but have learned what works best for me during runs. I used to do jelly beans but hammer gels are the best now! I take little bits at a time to make sure I dgest it ok. During my period, those tare the tricky days where I have to balance my hydration and fuel the best – I definitely feel the difference then, I am much more sensitive and need much more salt/water to feel ok.
I definitely think little bits of gel is the way to go – otherwise it’s just too many carbs hitting your stomach all at once! Periods are so tricky for electrolytes. When I do get a period I have to take magnesium supplements (which I take anyway, so I guess more accurately I increase my magnesium supplementation) because my body just needs more of those minerals and more water. Sometimes periods feel like marathons in themselves, so it’s good you can sense that difference and fuel/hydrate for it!
Awesome information as always! I agree that so many runners focus on what they need to eat just before and during a run but the rest of the week is not even thought of. You aren’t training only for the long run. You’re body is in training the WHOLE week. Last year I found what worked for me mid run – HUMA gels. I’m afraid to see how my body will react when I start needed it again. It’s always trial and error with fueling!
You just said it perfectly: the whole week is training! I’ve heard really great things about HUMA gels and hopefully they continue to work for you! It is such trial and error, and it seems that what works can change every few years.
I discussed the time that I bonked so hard on a run because I was terrified to use a gu on the podcast with Denny. Trust me, run with fuel! Even candy can work!
Candy is great for some runners! In college I used to eat raisins on long runs – Gus aren’t the only option!
I experimented a lot with mid-run fuel the last time I was training for a marathon, because I thought there had to be something more serious-runner-like than my go-to of gummi bears. But after much trial and error, I’ve come to the conclusion that I just need to stick with what works!
Different things work for different people – I’m a big believe in experimentation with fuels and sticking with what works, whether it seems “serious runner” or not. Gummi bears make sense – they’ve got quick carbs and are easy to carry and eat!
I have questions for you! First of all, what time are the trials at tomorrow? Also, when you whisk an egg into your oatmeal, is it raw? Or do you whisk it in and then heat it up to cook it? I’m a dumbass when it comes to this stuff. I always put peanut butter in my oatmeal for protein but an egg sounds a lot less… heavy.
The trials at at 10 AM Pacific time! I know they’re airing on NBC down here. For the oats, I cook them as usual, and when they begin to thicken up, I crack in a raw egg and whisk it for one minute while keeping the oats in the pot over low heat until it is cooked and incorporated into the oats – almost custard-y like. It’s so much less heavy than PB and gives the oats a creamy texture and a lot more staying power.
And PS you’re not a dumbass, you’re brilliant 🙂
THANK YOU! Okay, good to know about the marathon and the eggs! I have a non-running friend coming over at 1pm tomorrow and I didn’t want to be rude and watch it while she’s here. This works out perfectly.
I used to be terrified to eat before a run for fear I’d gain weight. I’m so glad I wised up and realized how silly that was. I can run up to 6ish miles on an empty stomach just fine, but anything longer than that I need something in my belly–usually a piece of cinnamon raisin toast with almond butter. I also need to bring Gu gels or Honeystinger chews on runs 8 miles or more, and typically begin fueling 35-40 minutes into my run.
It sounds like you’ve found a reliable and effective method of fueling! I think that fear is common amongst a lot of women – I used to wonder that myself – but the truth is that we can run farther with food/fuel, and then aren’t ravenous and eating everything in sight afterwards. Also, cinnamon raisin bread with almond butter sounds delicious!
I don’t know if I’m just a big eater or what, but even if my run is 40 minutes, I get light headed without a FULL breakfast and usually a “run snack!” I’m so lucky to have a very strong stomach, but I’m still empathetic to those runners who aren’t as lucky. I don’t know what I would do if my stomach didn’t corporate because I run on nothing but high amounts of calories!
This was a great article and thanks for touching on a very popular myth!
Thank you! That’s awesome that you have a strong stomach and understand how to fuel well! I am just learning how eating more often (like every 45 minutes vs 60 minutes) on a long run really does give so much more energy – and makes long runs less fatiguing.
Its weird because most of the time my stomach does fine with fueling on a run and then once in a while it will give me problems, even if I eat everything I am used to. But in general, I think I have found some options that work for me. And I loved “The new rules of marathon and half marathon nutrition”! Such great info!
Stomaches are so finicky – mine does the same. That’s good that you’ve found what works most of the time! And the New Rules is such a good book – glad you enjoyed it! His new book is so good also.
I’ve learned what works for me. I have a crazy sensitive GI tract. For a marathon, I fuel with Tailwind nutrition, which has been the most successful fuel so far. For a shorter distance, like a half, I can use Tailwind (if it’s warm and I need to hydrate) or I can use Clif Gel in cooler temps. I also prep myself before the race so there aren’t any unexpected accidents. No salads or beef that week. Ugh.
That’s great that you’ve found what works for you! Fueling really does seem to differ from one race distance to another – those last miles of a marathon can really mess with the stomach.
It took me awhile to figure out I needed to eat on longer runs. It seemed silly to consume more calories, but once I did it really helped. I don’t know how people do marathon length runs without proper fuel! Great tips. Tweeted for you!
Thanks for sharing! I don’t know how people do marathon long runs without fuel also – the fuel makes the run so much easier and keeps that faint/ravenous feeling at bay.
Maybe unorthodox, but before a long race or run I esalty peanut butter crackers
Not unorthodox at all! I bet that salt helps a lot for long distance!
Great post Laura and I do think one of the most important things you can do for yourself is figure out the best time for fueling. It differs with every runner I’ve come across.
Thanks Hollie! It really does differ from runner to runner – and I always find that reading what works for others helps in figuring it out.
Great info! I’ve been lucky that I never had stomach issues but I also never used much fuel- I can’t do the gu texture so I stuck with things like dried fruit and last marathon cycle I liked Huma gels. I’ve been teaching my body to use more fat than sugar and that’s working well for me too. I agree, it takes lots of experimenting and everyone is different!
Thank you! The fat adapting aspect of fueling is so interesting – definitely something I want to learn more about!
I’m a self taught runner & was DEEP into marathon training before anyone thought to tell me I needed to eat during runs (no wonder 20 miles nearly killed me) & thank goodness for running buddies.
I’m still trying to figure out what works best for me. Gels // GU seems to be a bit too thick for me to take without choking so that’s clearly not a good option. Nothing much seems to bother my stomach, it’s more about what I am able to actually take without making myself gag.
20 miles without fuel would be so hard and uncomfortable! I use Hammer gels and find they’re less thick and easier to eat while running compared to GU, especially the apple cinnamon and raspberry flavors. GU was far too thick for me also!
I have weeks of simple eating and using recipes too 🙂 I get you, girl!
Before running I like to have a bit of something, whether it’s a small smoothie or a piece of fruit.
It’s a nice break from creating recipes! 🙂 A piece of fruit is my favorite pre-run snack also, especially bananas or raisins.